What can be done to prevent e-scooter accidents involving kids? Here’s what one expert says

Dr. Daniel Rosenfield, pediatric emergency physician at SickKids explains the risks of not wearing proper gear and what’s legal in provinces for e-scooters.

In the last few years, it’s become commonplace to see e-scooters zip by on streets and sidewalks across Canada. The prevalence of these devices has led to a notable increase in accidents that require a trip to the emergency room, according to medical experts.

While injuries can range from scrapes, bruises and fractures, they sometimes result in death and other serious outcomes.

Dr. Daniel Rosenfield is a pediatric ER physician at SickKids in Toronto. He said that since the COVID-19 pandemic, the number of ER visits involving e-scooters has jumped dramatically.

In 2020, SickKids saw one single e-scooter injury. That went up to 26 in 2023, 46 in 2024 and 107 in 2025. Along with the spike in numbers, is the severity of the injuries.

“Bumps and bruises and scrapes and scratches, we’re OK with,” Rosenfield told CTV Your Morning on Monday. “It’s these major trauma team activations that are requiring … surgery, head injuries, major fractures, abdominal injuries, things like that.”

Rosenfield pointed to the availability of e-scooters and their affordable price tag as one of the reasons they’ve become more popular over the years. E-scooters can be bought online and at many big box stores, with the price ranging between $270 to more than $1,000.

The most common demographic to arrive in the ER at SickKids with an e-scooter-related injury are boys between 10 and 12, Rosenfield said, though occasionally they will be younger.

“Unfortunately, between (the ages of) three and five, we see a little blip, because those are passengers on either their sibling’s e-scooter, or a parent’s scooter,” he said.

A recent survey from the Canadian Paediatric Society, co-lead by Rosenfield, found that of the 57 cases of severe injuries related to e-scooters in 2025, there were 10 deaths among children under the age of 18. Additionally, there were 12 admissions to an ICU.

While e-scooters are illegal to ride on public roads, sidewalks and trails in Toronto, the province of Ontario currently has a provincial pilot program that focuses on their safety. It requires riders:

• To be at least 16 years old
• Remain standing while riding
• Wear a bicycle helmet for those under 18

Riders cannot:

• Carry passengers or cargo
• Ride an e-scooter on controlled access highways

As for why there’s not more laws around e-scooters, Rosenfield said it gets complicated since the devices are legislated under traffic, which is a provincial mandate.

“It is hard to do something uniformly at the provincial level … and so there is this patchwork of rules and bylaws, and I do think it makes for a little bit of a confusing landscape for all users,” he said.